Tom Kim and Jeeno Thitikul can dominate the Grant Thornton Invitational according to golf expert Ben Coley, who has two selections.
Golf betting tips: Grant Thornton Invitational
6pts win Tom Kim and Jeeno Thitikul at 11/2 (General)
2pts win Rickie Fowler and Lexi Thompson at 14/1 (General)
The Grant Thornton Invitational is a fun way to sign off for the year when it comes to golf in the USA, especially now that the format has been changed to feature teams made up of one player from the PGA Tour and another from the LPGA Tour.
Jason Day and Lydia Ko were victorious in the first such renewal and while not among my selections, they did help support the idea that putting is particularly important in these pairs events. Asked to sum up the best way to solve an ordinary tournament in the simplest possible terms I'd say find someone who can hit it and might make a few putts. In these, it's the opposite: start with the putter and work backwards from there.
With 18 holes of scramble demanding a score in the 50s and a closing four-ball which again requires low scoring, there are a lot of holes on which both players will get the chance to putt. I really wouldn't want to be siding with anyone who struggles badly in that department and that helps rule out Tony Finau and Nelly Korda before we begin to worry about whether Finau will even turn up post-surgery.
Corey Conners and Brooke Henderson almost flushed their way to the title last year but Conners has to fly in from South Africa which can't help, so there is one team here which stands out from the rest: TOM KIM and JEENO THITIKUL.
The latter is arguably the hottest player in the women's game at the moment and in fact won right here at Tiburon last time out, having been 10th and fifth on two previous visits. Ko was a two-time course winner before adding a third title alongside Day, who had also won here before in this event, so that course record alone has to be a positive.
Throw in the fact that she's also the best putter on the LPGA Tour on this year's numbers and there's so much to like about Thitikul, as there is Kim, who was second in the Bahamas on Sunday. He's surely going to be determined to end a frustrating year on a high, having been runner-up three times since mid-summer, and has had a nice sharpener after a very slow start to the Hero.
Typically an excellent putter in his own right, Kim is one of the standout male players in the tournament and while I won't for a second argue that we'll see his Presidents Cup intensity this weekend, experience of that competition is another plus along with the fact that he's borderline world-class. As well as being one of the best putting teams on paper, Day and Ko are both former world number ones.
Foursomes proved key to their success, Day and Ko carding the best score by a couple of shots, and with Kim laser-straight and Thitikul leading the greens-in-regulation stats on the LPGA Tour, these two look likely to stay out of trouble.
Yes, they're the favourites for a seemingly volatile tournament, but ultimately there are 16 potential winners and none more likely than these two, both capable of lighting up the greens. If they do that on Friday and Sunday, they'll take some beating granted a solid score on Saturday.
Remember, four of the last five winners of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans have been among the favourites. The reason is simple: weakness is exposed in pairs golf, particularly foursomes, and it's very hard to compete with two world-class golfers. The favourites are a bet.
Day and Ko are respected, the latter having enjoyed a famous year, but Day's performance in the Bahamas is a bit of a negative (T19 in a field of 20, worst tee-to-green stats of all 20) and they're a shorter price than they were 12 months ago.
Marginal preference is for RICKIE FOWLER and LEXI THOMPSON, who were second-best in the foursomes last year on their way to sixth place overall.
Fowler wasn't in the best of form at the time but has returned in much better shape this autumn, finishing 16th, 23rd and fourth and putting particularly well in the ZOZO Championship last time out.
Thompson's final full season has ended with a bit of a whimper but the numbers suggest she's been making more than her share and I do like the idea that she could be more motivated than most, as she was pretty furious to have been consigned to a 10th-tee start (and therefore not able to finish on the 18th) when waving goodbye here last time.
The fact that these two were paired together last year should help – they're one of just three such teams – and with their putting numbers good, and some incentive there given Thompson's retirement, they make enough appeal at double-figure odds.
Posted at 1100 GMT on 10/12/24
Safer gambling
We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.
If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.
Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.